Dunedin

Today I woke up at 7 am for some insane reason, had the breakfast which was delivered to my hotel room the night before, and walked to a pay phone to call my parents. The sun didn't end up rising until about 8:45, at which point I had walked to campus to check everything out. The University of Otago itself is half castle, half ultra-modern, and the mix actually looks quite appealing. By noon, I'd walked downtown, checked out a bunch of crazy New Zealand stores, had eaten at one of like two dozen indian restaurants (kickass!), bought a cell phone, and had made it back to the Cable Court Inn. I guess I walk fast. 

Anyway, it's still really cold and I haven't met anyone yet because my program begins tomorrow. Plus, all the students are gone on the breaks, so right now Home Improvement and I are keeping each other company. A few minor notes: Food here is expensive. Dinner, without exception, is like $16 per plate. To go out to bars I need an 18+ card to prove my age, which requires that I find a chemist to take a passport-sized photo, I pay a $20 fee, and then I have the four-page application signed by an official Justice of the Peace. Where the hell am I supposed to find one of those? Also, New Zealand television is hilarious. Their commercials are wildly inappropriate and most of their programming ran in America during the mid to late-90s. 

That's about it. Tomorrow should be more exciting.